Deep Fried Green Beans

Tis the season for getting great food from the Farmers' Market while you're waiting for the stuff in your own garden to get ripe. Around here, it's sweet corn that's the talk of the town, but anyone who knows me knows I love me some green beans. Now I do really love them just parboiled in a little water and then sprinkled with some salt, dotted with some butter, and if I'm feelin' fancy, tossed around with a little lemon pepper. That to me is a perfectly satisfactory dinner. However, I wanted to do something a little different with the fresh green beans I got from the Farmers' Market (Farmer Fred's to be exact--got to go to a place called Farmer Fred's!) since the salt/lemon pepper/butter trick works fine on frozen green beans. I recalled that while in a TGI Fridays I once ordered a fried green bean appetizer that was served with a wasabi ranch. I decided if TGIF's could do it, so then could I. I hit the internet and found greenbeansnmore.com and was intrigued by Fried Green Beans (that uses only 2 TBSP oil and 2 cups fresh green beans so you know it's not deep fried). I may still try that one, but I was determined and kept looking and found the recipe for Deep Fried Green Beans. I made them and found them to be super easy (which is a lot coming from me since I'm not much of a deep frying kind of gal) and served them at dinner with some plain ranch (I'm not a huge wasabi fan). If you're looking for something a little different to do with your green beans, I'd say try this out!

Deep Fried Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed to preferred length.
1 cup buttermilk (I just soured some milk with lemon juice, which also works)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP salt
1/2 TBSP pepper
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
Oil for deep frying

Pat your beans dry.  Mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl.  Dip your beans in the buttermilk and then roll them in the flour mixture.  Deep fry these until they are golden brown and then drain on paper towels. 

Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce.

For the oil, I used a combo of shortening and vegetable oil, but the recipe just said "oil for deep frying" so use whatever you think works best.  I'd say something with neutral flavor (vegetable, canola, shortening) and a high smoke point.  I don't have a fryer so I used a 2 quart saucepan and maybe (maybe) a pint of oil.  I didn't fry a lot at a time, but I got it done.  They are better sooner than they are later.

And 1/2 TBSP?  That's 1 and 1/2 tsp.  I have to look that up every time because I can never seem to remember if it's 3 or 4 tsp/TBSP.  It's 3.  If you've got a 1/2 TBSP measuring spoon, use it, but if you're like me and have to make due with eyeballing the TBSP or figuring out the tsp conversion, go with the 1 1/2 tsp.  You're welcome! :)

Butter-Braised Kohlrabi

Our kohlrabi did GREAT in the garden this year. Maybe it was a little too great: we had quite a few of the little buggars and it's hard to know what to do with them. I understand you can serve them raw with dip (which does sound tasty) and I know from experience that you can cut it up and parboil it with carrots, but there are only so many meals you can serve carrots & kohlrabi before it gets old. Because of that, I decided to trawl the internet to see if there were any other ideas and viola!: I found Butter-Braised Kohlrabi. Easy and delicious! Thank you saveur.com for this recipe!

Butter-Braised Kohlrabi

2 lbs kohlrabi, trimmed but unpeeled and cut into 1" cubes (I trimmed and peeled mine--I had let them get a little big)
1 cup chicken stock
4 TBSP butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (another thing doing well in my garden, gratefully)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the kohlrabi, stock, 2 TBSP butter, and thyme into a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Season with S&P and cover with parchment-paper circle cut to fit inside rim of skillet. (I did not do this: I used a splatter guard because I didn't feel like digging out the parchment, but your choice.)

Cook, stirring occasionally, until kohlrabi is tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover, remove pan from heat, and add the remaining 2 TBSP butter, swirling skillet until butter melts. Serve warm.

The slight carmelization I got on the kohlrabi (I didn't stir it enough) really was delicious and provided a nice counterpoint to the salt and papper vegetable-ness of the dish. If you're wondering what to do with a kohlrabi, this is it!

Cilantro Mojo

Today, while digging through some recipes looking for my apple butter guidelines (I should probably consolidate those into a single written-down formula at some point, but today is not that day), I came across a recipe I wrote down last year with the intention of trying...and promptly forgot I had it. Fortunately, being able to read came to the rescue and today I got to try Cilantro Mojo and can therefore recommend it to you! Right now mine is sitting in the fridge, but soon it will be served over tortilla chips and queso fresco for a nice easy dinner on a warm day. I may also serve it to myself with crackers and cream cheese. It really is a beautiful sauce and I think I may need to begin finding uses for it. I suspect it would be delectable on chicken too. Hmmm....possibilities!

The recipe comes from Cool Kitchen: No Oven, No Stove, No Sweat! 125 Delicious, No-Work Recipes for Summertime or Anytime by Lauren Chattman. There are some good recipes in that book and I would recommend looking through it to anyone who has the fortune to happen upon it. As always, enjoy! - D

Cilantro Mojo
"This garlicky, emerald-green sauce is a favorite condiment in Spain. It's good, simple party food, scooped onto chips instead of, or along with, tomato salsa. It invigorates plain grilled chicken or fish and can also be served with goat cheese. (I drizzle it on bread spread with cheese.)"

4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into a few pieces
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves (one bunch yielded a cup of leaves)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
3 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBSP lemon juice

Place all the ingredients in the work bowl of a food processor. (Actually, I used a Magic Bullet since I wanted to try out one of the wedding gifts. It works well I'm happy to report.) Proces suntil smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. The sauce, covered in plastic, can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours before serving.

Toothache Tomato Soup

I recently had a wisdom tooth removed and thus have found myself on a liquid diet (it hurts too much to open my jaw). Not a huge fan of the canned soup options and not wanting to take my puffy face to the store, I concocted some soup out of ingredients on hand. If you're looking for something with a little zing, this may be for you.

Toothache Tomato Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil (3-4 TBSP)
one quart canned tomatoes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry marjoram
1/2 tsp dry basil

Cook the onion in the olive oil until it just begins to take on a little bit of brown. Remove the pan from heat and spoon the onion out of the pan and into your blender. Put the dry spices in the warm oil left in the pan and go puree the onions. If it doesn't move around enough, pour in some of the tomatoes to give it some liquid. Put the onion puree back into the pan. Puree the remaining tomatoes until smooth and return to the pan. Stir everything together and warm until it's the temperature you prefer. Serve.

I will say that I think this would be lovely with some fresh sauteed garlic (didn't have any fresh: hence, the powdered) and that fresh spices would be superior goes without saying. If I had some cream onhand I might have tried some of that as well. This would be good with a loaf of crusty bread turned into a cheesy garlic toast or garnished with some toasted pinenuts too I suspect, but if you can't open your jaw for the pain, the plain version above was good and the leftovers kept really well in the fridge.

Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

Living with my grandfather, I am getting to know a lot about how my grandmother cooked. The other day, he mentioned the Blue Cheese Salad Dressing she used to make that he liked. Taking the hint, I pawed through her recipe boxes and followed her instructions to produce it for him. Blue Cheese is not my favorite dressing, but this was edible. More than that, it was a way to remember my grandmother.

Grandma Cluff's Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
1 clove garlic
3 TBSP chopped onion
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use light mayo)
1/2 to 1 cup Blue Cheese

Mix in blender. Thin with additional lemon juice if desired. Add chunks of Blue Cheese.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups.

********
I couldn't find the blender base or the food processing cup, so I just minced the garlic and onion really fine with a chef's knife, but I can see how the use of electric kitchen helps would have sped the process up. Still, it's nice to know the old-fangled ways still work sometimes.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Marinated Feta

From July 2009 Bon Apetit Magazine.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Marinated Feta

One 7-8 oz package feta cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP minced shallot (green onions are a good substitution)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano (fresh basil is also good)
1 pound large cherry tomatoes (the larger the easier)
12 pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise

Toss the cheese, oil, shallot, and oregano in a bowl and add a little salt & pepper to taste.

Cut your tomatoes in half (on the equator) and scoop out the pulp. (I saved the pulp and put it in cottage cheese at my house, in salsa when Gazpacho and I made this at her house, but you do what you think is best with the tomato innards.) Put the hollowed halves on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Stuff the hollows with the cheese mixture and slide the olive in alongside the cheese. If you wish, you can drizzle with additional olive oil. Cover and chill.

Bon Apetit says you can make these 6 hours ahead of when you plan to serve them.

Scratcheroni and Cheese

Several years ago, Gazpacho gave me the brilliant idea of adding sour cream to a cheese sauce when making macaroni and cheese. This recipe takes a remarkably short amount of time to whip up, but is worth it when you really want macaoni & cheese but don't want to face one more boxed dinner. Unfortunately...or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the recipe is highly imprecise, which means that you can alter it for any amount of persons you want.

Scratcheroni & Cheese

Macaroni (or other pasta shape if you prefer)

Cook this until al dente and drain it thoroughly. While you're cooking this, create a white sauce. I like mine thick, so it's usually equal proportions of flour and butter and about 1/3 cup milk for every 2 TBSP butter, but you can thin it however you want. Once your white sauce is nice & thick, add in SHARP (or Extra-Sharp) Cheddar cheese, a heaping dollop of sour cream, and cook/stir until the cheese is melted. Stir this all over into your pasta, add salt & pepper (and more sour cream if you want) and enjoy!

The sour cream makes it creamier, holds the cheese in suspension better so that leftovers aren't all greezy and separating, and it adds a piquancy that the mac-from-a-box just can't achieve (though you can stir in some sour cream and a little dill weed if you want to better up your box lunch).

FCG: Grandma's Christmas Punch

Grandma's Christmas Punch

Boil for 10 minutes:
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 quart water
Add:
12 whole cloves
4 sticks cinnamon
4 whole allspice berries
Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
Add:
3 cups orange juice
2 cups lemonade
2 quarts apple cider

Heat through and serve warm.

Green Sauce

This is kind of a fun recipe for a fake pesto-like white-based sauce. "Green Sauce" was the name given by the BHG Gold Anniversary Cookbook, so you can't blame me for that (particular) lack of creativity.

Green Sauce
2 TBSP basil leaves
2 TBSP parsley flakes
1/4 cup soft butter or margarine
1 8-oz package creem cheese, softened
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
2/3 cup boiling water

Combine the basil, parsley, and butter. Blend in the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, oil, garlic, and pepper. Stir in the boiling water and blend well. Serve over pasta.

Poppy Seed Dressing

I like to use this to dress a salad of spinach, mandarin orange segments, almonds, mushrooms, crumbled bacon, and shredded Swiss cheese.

In a blender, thoroughly combine the following:

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 TBSP dry mustard
2 tsp salt
2/3 cup white vinegar
3 TBSP fine onion juice (I've not been able to find this yet, so I usually liquefy a chunk of onion before adding the rest of the things to my blender.)
Slowly add
2 cups salad oil and blend for 5 minutes to emulsify.
Add 3 TBSP poppy seeds to mixture and blend just to combine.

Kycklingsallad

This is a Swedish Chicken Salad recipe from my Grandmother, who hunted it down for one of our Swedish feasts we used to have with Great Grandma at Christmas time. It is one of my favorite chicken salads and is an excellent filling for croissants or puff pastry shells. It is light enough for a tea sandwich, or, in a larger serving, hearty enough for a light lunch by itself.

Kycklingsallad
3 cups chopped cook chicken
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1/2 cup diced green pepper (if you've got it)
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped*
4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP light cream*
lettuce*

Mix together your chicken, celery, pepper (if you choose), eggs, and lemon juice. Stir the mayonnaise, salt, and cream together. Add the dressing to the chicken mixture and toss it lightly. Serve it on lettuce.

*I omit these.

Potatoes Nicoise

Potatoes Nicoise
1 clove garlic
3 medium potatoes (about 1 lb)
3 medium ripe tomatoes
boiling water
3 red onions (about 1 lb)
1/4 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
1 1/2 TBSP parsley, chopped
3 tsp salt*
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup grated cheddar or gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F. **

Cut your clove of garlic and use it to rub the inside of a 12x8" casserole. (I usually slice or mince this and sprinkle it on the layers with the onions, but if that's too much garlic for you, this represents the end of your affiliation with that clove and you may now throw it away.)

Pare your potatoes and slice 1/4" thick. Set aside.
Scald your tomatoes in the boiling water and peel their skins. Slice these 1/2" thick. Set aside.
Slice your onions as thinly as possible. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine your tarragon, basil, and parsley and mix this well. (I usually put my nutmeg in there too to make sure I don't forget it.)

In your prepared casserole, layer potatoes, sprinkle with the herbs and nutmeg; then onion; then tomato, sprinkled with the salt, keeping the order until the ingredients are used up and ending with tomato. Dot the top with butter and bake, covered, for 45 minutes (or until potatoes are fork-tender). Sprinkle the top with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes uncovered to melt the cheese and allow the top to brown slightly.

Serve warm. It also makes excellent leftovers.

*I never put the salt in mine.
**This recipe works well in a crock pot as well. It takes about 2 1/2 hours on high.

"Good Eats" Green Peas with Cheese and Herbs

This comes from Alton Brown's "Good Eats" and is delicious and simple. For further information on this recipe, please see the Food Network website. The episode (worth watching) is entitled "Give Peas a Chance"

Green Peas with Cheese and Herbs

3 quarts water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound fresh or frozen peas, approximately 3 cups
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
4 ounces cheese (ricotta salata, fontina or Swiss), cut into 1/4-inch cubes

In a large covered saucepan over high heat, bring the water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil. Add the peas and cook 1 minute for frozen and 3 to 3 1/2 minutes for fresh. Remove from heat, drain in a colander and immediately plunge the peas into ice cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, shallot, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk. Add the peas, mint, parsley and cheese and stir to combine. Cover and allow to sit in refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes prior to serving.

FCG: Risotto with Leeks and Roasted Asparagus 02/08/05

Greetings Gang!

Happy February to all. Presidents' Day is this month. I would say fix a "Presidential" meal, but I don't know what that would be. I guess we could have an American Cheese sandwich (if you can stomach that plastic cheese) or something. That other holiday (which shall remain nameless--you don't even get off work for it so it doesn't coutn anyhow) is only good for the abundance of all things chocolate and the excuse to eat them in my opinion. :) Since everyone in the gang not only can cook but also has a sense of humor (bet you didn't know I held such a stringent application program, did you?), I hereby share with you a joke my mother recently shared with me.What does a fish say when it runs into a cement wall?"Dam."

Today's recipe coems from the Better Homes & Gardens America's Ethnic Cuisines cookbook. I actually stood and cooked and stirred constantly (which for me is saying something--cooking and stirring constantly is the very definition of tedium to me) and was most pleased with the result. (Though if I could figure out how to do this without cooking & stirring constantly, I'd be all over that!) Trying this recipe marked the second time in my life I've had Risotto. When I had it last time, we used regular rice and found that if you cook/stir constantly it too gets creamy, but not quite to the extent that the Arborio does. It's up to you: special rice or pantry stock (unless you keep arborio in your pantry: I personally keep only the cheapest rice I can find). Enjoy! -Devon

Risotto with Leeks and Roasted Asparagus .
3/4 lb asparagus spears, trimmed
1 TBSP Olive Oil
salt & pepper
Place the spears on a baking sheet and brush the oil on them and sprinkle them with salt & pepper. Bake these at 450 for about 10 minutes (check at 8) until crips/tender. Cut the spears into 2" pieces.

1 1/2 cup sliced leeks
1 TBSP Olive Oil
Cook the leeks in the olive oil until tender.

1 cup uncooked Arborio Rice
Add this to the leeks and cook and stir for five minutes until the rice browns. (Or at least until the rice is coated with the olive oil: you really don't have to brown it if you don't want to.)

3 cups Chicken Broth
Bring this to a boil (in a separate saucepan) and then reduce it to simmer. (Do this while you're cooking the leeks and rice actually.) Add 1 cup of the broth to the rice mixture and cook and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Add the rest of the broth, 1/2 cup (or 1 cup if you're as impatient as I am) at a time, cooking and stirring after each addition until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the Roasted Asparagus pieces along with the following:
1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 TBSP snipped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 tsp coarse black pepper

Serve warm.

Doubles nicely.

FCG: Scampi and Lemon Parmesan Pasta 04/23/05

Greetings to you gangsters! Been a while since I've written to you all, so let me get caught up. First off, congratulations to Gina of our gang on the birth of her son! Congratulations to Kelly of our gang on the birth of their son! Congratulations to Heather & Brad of our group on the purchase of their new home! Those are all the highlights I know of right now, but congratulations to anyone else on any other milestone! Today I think I'll give you two recipes for the price of one (and you all have to admit, all this junk I send you is worth the price of admission :) as it were). The first one is for a Chicken Scampi which I liked: nice and simple. The second is for Lemon Parmesan spaghetti which is good, but is not a good leftover food, so it doesn't get as much of a recommendation. As always, enjoy! - Devon

Chicken Scampi

In a pan with 1 TBSP Olive oil, sautee the following:
1 large sweet onion (red onions work well. Vidalias or Walla Walla sweets would be good too.)
2-4 TBSP minced garlicLet that go until the onion starts to get soft a bit
and then add a sliced green peppera sliced red pepperand cook until these are crisp/tender. Spoon them out of the pan.
Into the pan, put:
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut up
Stir this to coat the chicken with oil. As the chicken cooks, add
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter (do not substitute says the recipe and I didn't so I don't know the consequences)1/4 cup lemon juice
cook until the chicken is done.
Spoon the vegetables back into the pot and stir until warm. Serve over cooked pasta of your choice and top with parmesan cheese. This warms up pretty well, but the peppers get soft (unless you cooked them soft in the first place). Still tastes good, though. The peppers were my own personal addition (because I like peppers), so you could leave those out, but it would be a less colorful dish. Also, you could easily substitute shrimp for the chicken in this if you were so inclined. Obviously it would diminish the cook time, but I don't think you'd have to change anything with the olive-oil butter sauce.

********

Lemon Parmesan Pasta

Cook 8 oz spaghetti (al dente) and put it into a casserole. (Don't really put it in the casserole if you don't want to, though. More on that later.)

In a saucepan, melt1/3 cup butter (I used marg: maybe that was the problem)and I also threw a couple of TBSP garlic into that just because I like garlic (and we all know I'm not kissin' nobody! :) )

Once the butter is melted (and your garlic is to your liking), add
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp lemon zest (I just grated a whole lemon into it)
3 TBSP lemon juice (I used all the juice I could squeeze out of my grated lemon)
and mix this all up. Stir it over your noodles.

The recipe then says to bake your sauced up noodles for 15-20 minutes at 400 F. I don't think that's necessary: sour cream burns pretty quickly, and all you're really doing is heating the stuff through, so if you don't want to dirty another pan, just stir your pasta up with the sauce and set it on the stove for a minute or so until it's as warm as you want it.

I think this would be good served with some grilled chicken or something, but the leftovers (at least if you use marg) tend to have the sauce separate and curd up a bit. It's still tasty, but the marg is kind of "greezy and obvious" (to quote from the Sweet Potato Queen: although this particular recipe actually came from allrecipes.com), so if presentation is important to you, don't make enough of this for leftovers.

FCG: Dips 12/07/07

Seasons’ Greetings Gang!
Hope your holiday seasons are going well. I got to visit with some family and cull some great recipes, one of which is listed below. My season is so far marked by stress as I try to manage teaching my Seminary class (those teenagers require a lot of prep work), working my job, Christmas Shopping, Figuring out how many things I can jam in the boxes I will use to ship said Christmas junk to people, assisting with (read: running) a service project at church, and just for extra fun putting myself through the torture of trying to sell myself to a University PhD program. I’ve had more fun, let me tell you. Fortunately, most of my shopping is done, I will be able to face the marathon wait at the Post Office (since all waits there are marathon these days), and next Saturday (15th) is the due-date for most of my applications, so soon I will have time just sitting around that is not already slated for six overlapping activities. I can hardly wait! At that time, I intend to do some cooking, but until then, I’m kind of living on takeout and snacks much of the time. Not the healthiest way to go, so I’ve been trying to come up with easy-to-fix, easy-to-store things to eat that have some redeeming nutritional value. Here are two recipes for your holiday enjoyment that can be dressed up for company or eaten out of the old cool-whip containers (for those of us who dine alone) easily and quickly and with relatively little trouble. Thanks to Erin of our group for the Sweet Pumpkin Dip recipe: something that just might turn me into a pumpkin eater someday. The other dip recipe comes from allrecipes.com and was really good. Happy Holidays, Peace to You & Yours, and as always, enjoy! – Devon

Sweet Pumpkin Dip

2 packages (8-oz/each) cream cheese
1 can (15-oz) pumpkin (this is the smaller can)
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

Beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the sugar (to taste: I didn’t use quite two cups because I didn’t think it needed it. Maybe I got a sweeter batch of pumpkin in my can) and spices and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving. Serve with sliced fruit, cinnamon graham crackers, gingersnap cookies (my personal favorite), toasted bagels or toast slices, etc.

Dukkah
(This is “an Egyptian spice blend that is wonderful. The more you eat it the more addictive it becomes. Serve with toasted crusty bread and olive oil. Dip bread into olive oil, then into hazelnut mixture and enjoy this unique and addictive mix.”)
2/3 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds (your typical spice container holds just less than a half cup)
2 TBSP Coriander Seeds
2 TBSP Cumin Seeds
2 TBSP freshly-ground Black Pepper (I substituted this with 1 TBSP f/g black pepper and 1 TBSP f/g Grains of Paradise and was quite pleased with the result.)
1 tsp flaked sea salt (or whatever you have on hand)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake them for about 5 minutes until fragrant. Remove from oven and put hot nuts into a tea towel and rub them around in this until the skins are gone. Let these cool. In a dry skillet (I used a saucepan and just shook my pan more often) over medium heat, toast your sesame seeds until light golden brown and then dump them in a bowl to stop the cooking. In the same skillet, toast the coriander and cumin until it begins to pop. Transfer these two spices to a food processor (you could use a mortar & pestle if you’ve got it, but the food processor would be easier)and process until finely ground. Add this to the sesame seeds and then process your cooled hazelnuts until they are finely ground. (Watch this: You do NOT want hazelnut butter!). Stir this into your spices and sesame seeds and add your pepper and salt and mix the whole thing up. Get yourself some olive oil and a hunk of good bread (I think Wonderbread would be a desecration) and enjoy.

Two for the Price of One

A lot of my recipes come from watching Food Network which I loooove to do. The following were inspired by a recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis, but I did so much altering that I'm prepared to call them my own. The dressing (my son's favorite balsamic vinaigrette) is true to Giada's original, but I've changed just about everything else about the dish.

Version 1
Penne Picanha
(Before we begin, a word on the title. I hate titles that just list everything in the dish. Giada's original recipe is called "Penne with Beef and Arugula" or something like that. We started calling it Penne Picanha because "picanha" is the Portuguese word for sirloin and because it is alliterative. And just way more catchy!)
1 lb sirloin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t italian seasoning
salt and pepper
12 oz penne pasta
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 T Dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 T dried basil (or 1/4 c fresh, chopped)
2 c baby spinach

Season both sides od sirloin with salt and pepper, then rub in minced garlic and italian seasoning. Grill till cooked the way you like it (sorry, I never do the grilling, so I can't even guess how many minutes per side for medium, or whatever). Meanwhile, cook pasta till al dente. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, s&p, and dried basil (if using fresh, hold off for now). Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking vigorously to combine. Toss pasta with spinach (and fresh basil if you opted for it). Slice sirloin into bite size pieces and add to pasta. Toss with dressing. Serve immediately (or take it on a picnic and serve at room temp).

Version 2
For which we do not yet have a good name. I sometimes call it Chicken Picanha but that makes no sense as there's no Picanha involved. Suggestions anyone?
1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 t to 1 t italian seasoning
1 T dried basil (or 1/4 c fresh, chopped)
12 oz penne
2 c baby spinach
1 big ball fresh mozzarella
balsamic vinaigrette as described above

Cook the chicken. I leave the technique up to you. I tend to poach it because I think it soaks up the dressing really well, but roasting or grilling it would also be really good and would add a different depth of flavor. Cook pasta. Make dressing just like above, but add in italian seasoning. Toss pasta with spinach (and fresh basil). Cut chicken and mozzarella into bite size pieces, add to pasta. Toss all with dressing.

This is a universal favorite in our house. My 6 year old begs for it, my one year old gobbles it up, my 32 year old and I fight over the leftovers, and my finicky 4 year old was lately heard to say "Mmmm, Mom, this is good!" Hope you enjoy it as well!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

Me, I make ice cream! Actually I make it all year round but since summer suddenly hit here, I've been making a bunch. So, here are a couple of my favorite recipes.

Pistachio Ice Cream
2/3 c unshelled pistachios
2 oz (1/4 c) egg substitute
1/3 c half & half
2/3 c milk
2 c whipping cream
3/4 c sugar
1/4 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract
4 drops green food coloring

If your pistachios are salted, give them a quick rinse to get some of the salt off. In a food processor (or blender) combine nuts, egg, half&half, and milk. Pulse to start chopping the nuts, but don't chop them too fine (you're going for a rough chop. If they get too fine it turns out like sandpaper ice cream... not as appetizing). Add the rest off the ingredients and process to combine. Following your manufacturer's instructions, freeze in your handy dandy ice cream maker. Remove to a freezer safe container and place in freezer for several hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend and to firm up the ice cream. This recipe makes about a quart of ice cream mix, perfect for a 1 1/2 qt ice cream maker.


And my other latest favorite...

Brownie Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream
4 oz egg substitute (1/2 c)
1 c sugar
1/2 c half & half
2 c heavy cream
1 1/2 t vanilla
8 oz cream cheese
a handful of berries of your choice, crushed (I recommend raspberries)
a couple of brownies, crumbled

Beat eggs and sugar till thick and cream colored. Add half&half, cream, vanilla, and softened cream cheese. Mix thoroughly in a blender or food processor till smooth. Freeze in your ice cream maker. Remove to freezer safe container and gently fold in berries and brownies. Freeze overnight or several hours. Enjoy!!! (This recipe also makes a generous quart of ice cream mix.)

A couple of notes on ice cream making: The colder your ingredients are, the more success you'll have. After you mix everything together, stash your concoction in the fridge for a while to chill it thoroughly before putting it in your ice cream maker. Also, both of these recipes call for egg substitute which means you don't have to cook the base. If you prefer to use real eggs (and I can't blame you) gently heat the mixture till it becomes thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon. This adds a step and then makes that chilling part really important which is why I generally go for the fake eggs.

So, now it's your turn. What kinds of ice cream (or other frozen delectables) do you love to make? Please share!